Bobbie Que's

HOUSTON: Bobbie Que's
3602 Scott St
Houston, TX 77004
713-842-7626
Open M-Sat 11-9, Sun 11-9 (1st Sunday of the month only)
bobbieques.com/

Update: This joint is CLOSED.

2010: Thelma's in Houston is an institution, so I headed straight there as soon as I got into town to catch their 11:00 opening. The sign on the window changed my plans as I quickly learned I was misinformed, and I had a 1/2 hour to kill before their 11:30 opening. I remembered a sign just up Scott St. advertising BBQ, so I headed back and found Bobbie Que's. I'd heard about this joint in a Robb Walsh review a few months back, so I didn't have high hopes, but I went in with an open mind and left with a hefty to-go bag.



Back in Thelma's parking lot, I got a punch in the nose as I opened the box. The odor of the vinegar sauce was ridiculously strong. There are posters all around the interior of the restaurant advertising these 'finishing sauces', and bottles are offered at the counter. Many times a tasty sauce is used to cover up less-than-stellar smoked meat, but I didn't see the appeal in this version. Unfortunately, the meat needed it. Brisket was thinly sliced, but still managed to be tough and stringy. There was no smokiness, or really any other flavors. The huge spare ribs were marginally better. They had some flavor of their own, but the sauce covered most of it up. The meat was moist, but undercooked and chewy, and it lacked smokiness of any kind. I guess the lesson is to be wary of a joint that has posters of nothing but their sauce on the wall.

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